Staffordshire couple open their garden to the public - in pictures

As part of the National Garden Scheme, Debbie and Leigh Farmer are hosting the open garden event at their Priory Farm home on Sunday.

Their home, located on Mitton Road in the village of Bradley near Stafford, boasts around nine acres of stunning countryside and even a glistening lake. From the ground’s range of wildlife to the colourful plants and flowers – the huge back garden, at the Priory Farm Equestrian Centre, has something for everyone.

There will also be a barbecue, tea and cake, plant and flower sale, music and even an art exhibition collated by an art group based in Bradley.

With warm weather and sunshine on the cards this weekend, Debbie, aged 58, hopes people will turn out in their numbers.

“We’re doing it as part of the National Garden Scheme – people open their gardens for charity, she said.

“It’s so beautiful and lovely. They are grounds rather than a garden. We’ve got some entertainment, a young local girl called Megan who plays the keyboard will be performing.

“We’ve got a local art exhibition from a group of women in the village and anything that’s sold then there see a large donation made to charity. They’ll be able to show of their work and they are really good paintings.

“This is our fourth year, we didn’t do it last year. We had 400 people come a few years ago.

“Its all over you get people coming from all over – even from Lancaster if the weather is nice.” The event is taking place from 10am in the morning until 4pm at night. The couple run an aerial platform company called Premier Platforms in Norton Canes and have 21 metre high platforms in the garden from which people can enjoy for people to enjoy the views from.

Since 1927, the National Garden Scheme has been inviting garden owners to open their backyards to the public for good causes, giving people unique access to some of Britain’s most beautiful, memorable gardens for around the same cost of a cup of tea and a slice of cake.

Over the last 90 years, the schem has donated £50 million to various charities across the UK.

Debbie and Leigh are charging £4 entry to the grounds and entry is free for children.

Mrs Farmer added: “It will just be a really nice day out. I have not seen any rain forecast for the day too which is great.”

“We’ve got a lake, the wildlife and I think we’ve got about eight or nine acres. We’ve got quite a few animals like geese and ducks which all lives outside. We’ve also got a equestrian stable but people wouldn’t really be able to go down. But my daughter might bring her horse for pony rides.

“I love to see other peoples gardens as well. My friends Mary and her husband David are retired horticulturists who come down and help me. I can rely on their experience and they open their garden too in July.”

When we moved there there wasn’t hardly any flowers at all and its coming on now. This heat isn’t doing us any good at the moment ‘cause it takes us a long time to water everything.”

The grounds will be signposted from the A518 and A449.

For more information on the National Garden Scheme go to www.ngs.org.uk